Point Thriller: The Snowman (R.L. Stine)

Heather inherited a large sum of money when her parents died, but she now lives with her Uncle James and Aunt Belle. James is a douche, who won’t let her have any of the money in her trust fund. He treats her like crap, lectures her constantly and even treats his wife fairly badly. Heather fantasizes multiple times about killing him, including letting him freeze on the roof and his sled crashing into a tree.

When the book opens, James catches Heather and her boyfriend Ben making out in her car. He pitches a fit and demands she go to work. That night, she meets a cute guy who just moved to town. He has snow white hair and goes by the name Snowman. They do some flirting and when he goes to pay, he realizes he forgot his wallet. He asks her on a date, to make up for not paying and she agrees.

Heather and Snowman head off to a dance club, but he freaks out because he thinks he sees a car following them. He comes back to visit her at work a few times too. Ben finds out about him and when she says she wants to date them both, he just pulls away and breaks up with her. Snowman then takes her to a secluded place in the woods, but she thinks someone followed them.

Snowman decides that he wants to come to dinner, even though she warns him about James. James is incredibly rude to them, acting like Snowman is just after her money. She learns that his dad died, his mom works as a nurse and the family doesn’t have very much money. James keeps up his rude act, even pushing Heather into a wood buffet and hurting her back. Then he turns it around on her, blaming her for ruining his dinner.

The next time she sees him, Snowman acts distant and weird. He reveals that his little brother needs an operation that they can’t afford. His mom works as a private nurse and doesn’t have insurance. Heather offers to pay for the surgery and he turns her down, but comes back the next day and asks for the money. He promises to get a job and slowly start paying her back.

When she sees him again, he has big news…he killed James. Heather refuses to believe him, until he takes her home and shows her the truth. He strangled James with a scarf and for some reason, left behind no incriminating marks. She flips out, decides she never wants to see him again and forces him out. Unfortunately, he shows up again and wants more money. If she doesn’t pay him, then he’ll take her other check to the cops and tell them that she paid him to kill her uncle.

Heather receives a visit from the FBI, trying to find Snowman nee Bill Jefferies. He killed his father and went on the lame. She won’t tell them the truth because he has that check and she assumes that no one will believe her. Heather gives him more money and he promises to leave. Except that he doesn’t just stay in town, he moves into a room above the garage.

Heather goes to Ben not only because she wants his help, but because she misses him too. He offers to help her get back her check and they sneak into Snowman’s room. He surprises them, hits Ben over the head and drags Heather out to their old spot in the woods. He hits her and when she wakes up, she’s inside a snowman. Luckily she has an old lighter her dad gave her and uses it to burn through the snow.

Snowman is waiting for her because he wanted to make sure she died. They have a huge fight and then the cops show up. It turns out that Ben woke up and called the cops. He followed them the day they went to the woods and suggested the cops look there. They hug and she thinks about how glad she is to have him around.